


no one ever got my soul right like she could

by brookethenerd



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Prom, we love dumb mutually pining gays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-20 21:01:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21063125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brookethenerd/pseuds/brookethenerd
Summary: robin buckley x reader au in which feelings come to a head at prom with a sprinkle of some of the rest of the gang!requested by anonymous





	no one ever got my soul right like she could

**Author's Note:**

> i take requests on my tumblr @harringtown :)

Hawkins, Indiana in 1986 was, admittedly, not the best time or place to be a gay teenager. Even with the events of the last few years - telepaths and Russians and monsters and alternate universes - there were still rules to follow, boxes to hide in.

All you had to do was make it to graduation without mucking everything up. Make it to graduation, move the hell out of this town, and be yourself in a place no one cared. California, maybe. San Francisco. Or maybe, New York City. Somewhere. _Anywhere_.

It was easy enough to stay in the shadows - and, by proxy, that iron-clad closet - until Steve befriend Robin Buckley. Even with the lingering awkwardness between Steve and Nancy, he and Robin still ended up at your house on the regular to see her and Mike. The remnants of three years of battling evil monsters made it hard for anyone to relax, and there was at least one weekly meeting in which someone thought they saw something.

You were so close to getting out. And then Robin Buckley showed up in the basement and smiled, and made you laugh, and it all crumbled to dust.

* * *

“Nancy, seriously, that’s enough!” You complained, trying - in vain - to stand up from in front of her vanity. Your sister grabbed your shoulders and shoved back down, shaking her head.

“Oh, no, it’s not. Just sit still for five more minutes,” she said, tilting your chin back up and pulling out a tube of bright red lipstick. You panicked, mouth already forming the ‘no way’ when Nancy made a face.

“It’s one night. You’ll survive,” she said. “Besides, isn’t there anyone you want to impress?”

Your stomach twisted painfully. _No one you could tell her about._

It didn’t matter how accepting she, or even Mike, would be. It didn’t matter, because this was still Hawkins, and you were still the only lesbian for miles, and it would only end in pity or shame or something else you couldn’t bear.

“No,” you said.

Nancy pursed her lips, uncapping the lipstick. She looked like she wanted to say something else, but decided against it, and applied the finishing touches, effectively ending the line of questioning, for which you were immensely grateful. You were already nervous enough; in this somewhat frilly dress, in makeup that felt a little like clown paint.

“Let’s go, slowpokes!” Your brother exclaimed, pushing through Nancy’s bedroom door in a suit, his curls gelled into place; another product of Nancy, you imagined.

“We have ten minutes!” Nancy retorted. Mike made a face and stepped further into the room.

“El said Joyce are already almost there,” Mike said.

“You’ve got to stop communicating with her inside your head. It’s freaky, man,” you said. Mike stuck his tongue out at you. Nancy perked up at the mention of Joyce, and by proxy, Jonathan. Joyce was bringing the boys and El into town for Prom, and though neither Will nor El still attended the high school, exceptions were made allowing them to go. With Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve chaperoning, it was sure to be the _best senior prom ever._

At least, that was what Nancy said. You were just worried about how to talk your way out of dancing with some greasy boy, and how to explain the rejections to your friends and family without earning those sad, _Y/N can’t get a date_ looks.

It was true, of course, but not for the reason they thought.

“Fine. We’ll meet you at the car in five minutes,” Nancy said, timeline immediately accelerated by the mention of her boyfriend. A flush of jealously rushed through you; what would it be like to be that excited to see someone, and have them be just as happy?

“Make it four!” Mike called before tugging the door shut, his footsteps easily heard barreling down the hall and down the stairs.

Nancy turned back to you, taking in her work. She nodded, approving of her own job.

“Try and put yourself out there, huh?”

“I’ll pass,” you said.

“Come on. It’s senior prom. There’s got to be someone you wouldn’t mind awkwardly slow dancing in the gym with,” she said. You shrugged, standing up and readjusting your dress. The fabric was stiff and uncomfortable, but when you turned to face the mirror, you couldn’t help but admit Nancy had done a good job. A _really_ good job.

If only it mattered.

* * *

The prom committee cleaned up the gym as best they could, attaching dorky streamers and lights and balloons, but it was impossible to hide the basketball hoops or slick gym floor. Still, it was nicer than anything you’d seen. Not that the bar was all that high, but still.

You’d come in with Nancy and Mike, but both had disappeared almost immediately, Nancy in the direction of a suited Jonathan and the snack table and Mike onto the dance floor with a shy El. You lingered near the hallway door, watching your siblings smile and laugh, the sight stirring something hollow and painful in your belly.

How easy it was for them. To dance and smile and kiss in public. Even with everything they’d gone through, even with the losses and struggles, at least they had this.

Nausea pooling in your gut, you pushed through the gym doors and into the dark hallway, shaking the anxiety from your hands.

Just a little bit longer, and you’d be free of this town. Just a little bit longer.

You raked a hand through your hair, mussing up the curls Nancy had precariously perfected, not caring that her masterpiece was ruined.

“Fuck!” You cursed, spinning and planting your palms against the wall, head drooping.

“If you hate the song that much, you can just request another,” said a familiar voice. You jumped and turned to find Robin stepping out of the girl’s bathroom, outfitted in a blue Gunne Sax dress that fell just below her knees. It didn’t poof out at the shoulders, the way most of the other girls’ did, but you liked the simplicity. Somehow, she was even more beautiful when she was unassuming.

At your silence, she crossed the hallway and leaned against the wall beside you, hands tucked behind her back.

“Happy prom,” she said, “best night of our lives!” The sarcasm weighed heavily on her words, and you couldn’t help but smile.

“Pretty low bar for the rest of our lives, though, isn’t it?” You asked. She grinned and butterflies fluttered in your belly.

“Guess so,” she said. She tipped her head back against the wall, dirty blonde strands falling like a waterfall around her, eyes closed. Your gaze stayed locked on her; the peak of her collarbones, the rise and fall of her chest with her breath, the pink on her cheeks.

She opened her eyes, catching your stare, and you averted your gaze. She smiled, like she knew something you didn’t, and lifted her head, nodding at your dress.

“I like it. Very poofy,” she said. You looked down at the puffy mint green sleeves and back up at Robin, grimacing.

“It’s Nance’s. I didn’t think it was worth it to buy another dress. I’m second-guessing that, obviously.”

Robin laughed and moved in front of you, brows pulling together as she inspected your dress with faux intensity. When she lifted her gaze to yours, her eyes were bright with mischief.

“We could give it a little makeover,” she said. You frowned, and Robin jerked her chin to the bathroom she’d come out of.

“Come on,” she said, and headed for the door. You followed, pushing into the bathroom behind her. She gestured to the counter and you hopped up onto it, Robin positioning herself in front of you and holding her hands up like she were taking a photo. She nodded with furrowed brows, and said, “I think we can work with this.”

“Anything’s better than this, I think,” you said. She snorted and reached up, taking the fabric of your right sleeve between her fingers, skin brushing yours. Without warning, she ripped downward, the puffy sleeve sliding down. At the first’s success, she ripped off the other side, tugging the sleeves over your wrists and tossing them into the sink behind you.

“There. Much better,” she said, stepping back to inspect. Every cell was aware and alive beneath her gaze, each inch of skin buzzing with electricity. It wasn’t the closest you’d ever been, but it was the closest you’d been alone.

“Thanks,” you said, “and if Nancy asks, it was an accident.”

Robin grinned, holding your gaze for a second longer than necessary before turning for the door. It was something in that extra second that made you call after her. Something different in the air, some minute shift.

She stopped at the door, looking at you over her shoulder.

“Yeah?” She asked.

“You look beautiful,” you said, a blush rising to your cheeks. Saying the words made you so nervous you thought you’d puke, but the slowly-creeping smile on Robin’s face - a different smile than you’d ever seen - kept you from taking them back or bolting out of the bathroom.

“Pretty sure you’re the fairest of them all, Wheeler,” she said. Your brows pulled together, her words slowly coming together in your head. You didn’t dare let the excitement threatening to drown you pull you under.

“You think so?” You asked.

“Always have,” she said, pink creeping on her own cheeks, some of her constant confidence slipping away. Her blatant honesty cut through any sarcastic or self preservatory words you could have said.

“Always?”

She dropped her head, shrugging, meeting your gaze through feathered lashes.

“You just weren’t paying attention.”

“I was always paying attention,” you said, feet pushing you forward before you’d even decided to move. You took her by the shoulders and kissed her, not as soft or gentle as you’d imagined, years of pent up wanting spilling out the moment you touched her.

But it seemed you weren’t the only one trying to make up for lost time. Without breaking from your lips, her hands found their way to your waist, fingers gripping the fabric of your dress as she tugged you closer, mouth parting against yours. You breathed her in, all deliciously sweet and full of longing.

You didn’t hear the door swing open, but Robin did, breaking the kiss, the coldness that came without her touch slamming into you like a gust of wind. It took your brain a moment longer to register Nancy and Jonathan in the door, but the moment you did, heat burned through your cheeks, anxiety looping itself into a cement knot inside you.

“I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to-” Nancy started, looking anywhere but your face. Nausea crawled its way up your throat and you pushed past them, away from Robin and into the dark hallway before anyone could speak. Kicking off the painful shoes Nancy had squeezed you into, you took off at a run, feet smacking the linoleum floors. Your only direction was _away_; anywhere you didn’t have to be the pariah.

You found yourself on the school’s front steps, illuminated only by the lights pointed toward the flag. You dropped down, hiking up the puffy fabric of your dress and wrapping your arms around your knees.

The door popped open behind you and you prayed it was just someone leaving the dance early; instead, Nancy sat down beside you.

“Hey,” she said. You ignored her, eyes pinned on a dark blue Pontiac in the parking lot.

“Look, what happened in there-”

“We don’t have to talk about it.”

“Yes, we do-”

“We don’t, Nancy. We don’t. Just-just forget it even happened.”

Nancy paused.

“So that’s your plan, then? Keep this big secret for the rest of your life? Move out and…I don’t know, lie forever? We used to talk…about everything,” she said, angrier than you’d seen her in a long time.

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“That’s bullshit!”

“What do you want me to do? Come out to the whole school? To mom and dad and you and Mike? You know what happens to people who are different in this town. Especially…especially different like that.”

“I’m not the whole school. I’m your sister.”

You dropped your forehead against your arms, letting out a sigh.

“I don’t care. If that’s what you were worried about,” she said. “I know it’s a big deal to a lot of people, but not to me. To me, you’re always going to be the little sister who ruined my nice dress,” she said, reaching out to thumb the ripped sleeves.

You lifted your head and smiled apologetically.

“It was Robin who ruined it, technically,” you said. Nancy laughed and shook her head.

“Fine. Whatever,” she said, “But I mean it. I don’t care who you like. I just care that you trust me enough to tell me about it.”

Her words brought a cold relief, an untwisting of the knot that had been tightening since the first time you looked at a girl and realized it was different than everyone said it should be.

“I won’t tell mom and dad. Or even Mike, if you don’t want me to. Not that he’d care. And mom and dad…I mean, everything freaks them out, but they’d get over it.”

“You think so?”

She smiled and wrapped an arm around your shoulder, tugging you into her side.

“I know so,” she said. She tipped her head against yours, both looking out at the dark lot.

“I forget, sometimes, that you’re younger than me. You always have your shit together. I guess I kind of figured you didn’t need me, so I stopped paying attention. I’m sorry,” she said. Your heart swelled and you leaned further into her.

“S’okay,” you said.

“From now on, I promise I’ll come to you, if you’ll come to me. About anything.”

You nodded.

“I promise.”

“Good,” she said, with a smile, “now I think there’s something else you need to take care of.”

You frowned and sat up, looking over at her.

“Robin? You ran out on her. Lord knows Jonathan isn’t near as good at this pep talk stuff as I am, so who knows what state she’s in,” she said. You shook your head.

“She probably hates me, now.”

“I don’t think it’s possible for her to hate you,” Nancy said.

“Running like that…”

“Just talk to her. If there’s anyone who gets it, its her, right?”

* * *

You found Robin sitting on the closed concessions counter, feet tapping rhythmically against the wall below her. She’d managed to pry up the metal slat just enough to reach one of the candy boxes, and had it beside her, a half-eaten snickers dangling in one hand.

“Isn’t that technically stealing?” You asked, crossing the hall and hopping up onto the counter beside her, stomach in your throat. She looked a little hesitant, a little nervous, a little unsure, but she still pulled an unopened bar from the box and handed it to you.

“Eh,” she said, “take it out of the PTA’s budget.”

You laughed, but Robin didn’t, and the silence was almost unbearable. She didn’t make any effort to fill it, leaving the first words to you.

“I’m sorry,” you said. She didn’t reply.

“I’m sorry for running away. I didn’t-it was shitty. And I’m sorry,” you said. 

“_You_ kissed _me_,” she said.

“I know.”

“_Why_ did you kiss me?”

“Because I wanted to.”

“Then why’d you run?” She looked over at you, the intensity of her gaze making it impossible to look away.

“Because I was scared.”

“Scared,” she said. “Scared of…?”

You hesitated, the words waiting behind your lips, waiting for permission to tumble out and create whatever chaos they wanted.

“I like you. I really, really like you. And it scares the hell out of me,” you said. It was the most honest thing you’d said in a long, long time. It was like letting the air back into the room, overwhelmingly freeing to drop the words you’d been guilting and killing yourself over.

Robin’s brows twitched.

“Are you scared now?” She asked.

“No,” you said, “the only time I’m not is when I’m with you. It’s when you’re not here that I…think about all the ways it could go wrong.”

“What’s the point in freaking out over the ending if you never even open the book?” She asked. You took your bottom lip between your teeth and held her gaze. She was right, of course.

“When you kissed me, I thought, finally,… And when you ran away….” Robin stopped. Took a breath.

“I don’t want you to run away again,” she said. You swallowed whatever nervousness and doubts were still rattling around in your head. You’d spent enough time with them to know they only hurt.

“I’m not going anywhere,” you said and reached up to tuck a fallen strand of hair behind her ears. Her lips curled up in a lopsided smile, and all the doubts flew away. 

The potential for hurt was exponential when you added Robin to the equation. But that was love, you guessed. Fighting for something even when you knew you might lose. Because the chance of flying far outweighed the risk of falling.

What was left to do but take the jump?


End file.
